First Lady Trips Over Foreign Names at Arts Luncheon
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WASHINGTON — Nancy Reagan slurred and stumbled over several names and words today when she read off the list of winners of the 1987 Medal of Arts award and their citations at a White House luncheon.
“I seem to be having trouble with my words,” said the First Lady, turning to her husband after hesitating on the word “philanthropist” at the East Room gathering.
Mrs. Reagan also faltered and hesitated in reading some of the winners’ names with difficult pronunciations, such as Howard Nemerov, author of 23 books; Alwin Nikolais, choreographer, and Isamu Noguchi, sculptor.
At the end of the ceremony, Reagan smiled quizzically at her and she smiled back reassuringly.
A reporter covering the event said Mrs. Reagan got “tongue-tied” on some of the words. Another reporter said they were “hard names” to pronounce.
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